1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a connector set and a jointer for use therein and, more particularly, to a structure of a jointer for joining a plurality of connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
Size reduction and functional upgrade of a portable terminal, such as a portable phone, are recently proceeding, and miniaturization and integration of electronic components to be mounted as well as size reduction of a printed wiring board are also becoming greater. Under such a circumstance, devices requiring ultra-multi-conductor connectors having 200 conductors have come out in relation to connectors. A pitch eventually becomes finer, and a footprint that can be used for mounting a connector becomes further smaller. Even a slight size reduction is increasingly becoming serious.
Various connectors for a variety of applications have hitherto been put forward. As shown in FIG. 16, there is an example of a connector including a socket 1010 and a header 1030, and the connector makes an electrical connection between printed wiring boards (e.g., an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) and a hard substrate) on which the socket 1010 and the header 1030 are mounted (see, for instance, JP-A-2002-008753).
The socket 1010 includes: a socket body 1011 made from a molded resin article defining a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape; and a plurality of socket contacts 1020 which are inserted into the socket body 1011 during resin molding process and which are formed by bending a strip-shaped metal material.
The header 1030 includes: a header body 1031 made from a resin molded article; and a plurality of header contacts 1040 which are inserted into the header body 1031 during resin molding process and which are formed by bending a strip-shaped metal material.
In order to make a connection with the head body 1031, an insertion groove 1012 is formed in the socket body 1011 along its longitudinal direction. The head body 1031 is inserted into the insertion groove 1012, whereby the socket contacts and the header contacts are brought into electrical connection with each other.
The header 1030 is inserted into the insertion groove 1012 of the socket 1010, whereupon a projecting mount of the header 1030 fits into the insertion groove 1012 of the socket 1010. Further, a contact portion of the socket contact 1020 comes into an elastic contact with a contact portion of the header contact 1040. Accordingly, a printed wiring board on which the socket 1010 is mounted and a printed wiring board on which the header 1030 is mounted are electrically connected together.
A coupling member as well as a coupling-type connector in which a plurality of such connectors are coupled and arranged on a circuit board has been proposed. The coupling-type connector includes a plurality of connectors coupled together in a longitudinal direction (JP-A-2005-294036), and the coupling member includes a plurality of connectors arranged in parallel (JP-A-8-250836).
Another proposed connector includes a plurality of surface-mounting connectors that are arranged in parallel and coupled together by means of a metal absorbing plate (JP-A-11-003752). The surface-mounting connectors prevents occurrence of deformation caused by heat generated during a solder reflow process when connection terminals of the connector are mounted on a circuit board, such as a printed wiring board, or prevents the connector from receiving damage generated during removal process after the solder reflow process, thereby maintaining flatness of the contacts and making the absorbing plate recyclable.
In the surface-mounting connector, engagement portions of the absorbing plate and engagement portions of the connector supported by the absorbing plate each are provided with a backlash space (a margin space). When the connector is placed on a horizontal surface of a printed circuit board (a printed wiring board), the connector can slightly move in a three-dimensional direction. Occurrence of warpage and lifting generated during the solder reflow process is prevented by assuring the backlash space, to thus enhance the flatness of the connector achieved after mounting of the connector.